Giants
The giants are one of the oldest races of Tolas, they live all over the world and once their empire spanned horizon to horizon. Giants fought a war against the dragons of the world long ago, but they still have memories of that terrible event which left them shattered and divided. History The history of giants is kept by all of the castes in one form or another, carved into stone, sung on the wind or burned into earth in runes. Children of the All-Father Giants were born from the titans, the primordial creators of the world that shaped the land to their whims. In particular the giants claim to have been sired by Ogremoch, whom they call Annam, the All-Father. The first giants were touched by the elemental powers of each of the primordials, granting them some essence of their power, though it is not known if this was a willing act by these titans. The giants fought during the Dawn War, the conflict that saw the gods bind the primordials into the world they had created. The giants fought against the gods, but with the defeat of Ogremoch by the dragon gods, the giants left the fight, seeing the end approaching for the titans. When the war ended and the triumphant gods began to turn on themselves as they divided the spoils of the world, the giants began to build their empire. Spanning across the mortal realm, the giants conquered the unclaimed and wild territories, unchallenged by the small folk, even the dragons were still learning the extent of their power as the giants were wielding their great might. The War after the First War If there's one thing I've learned in my life, it's that any empire that rises will fall. They all come crashing down. - ''extract from "Walking with Giants: a history of the colossal" by Emdin'ven Cultural Considerer of Telinor. The giants never forgave the dragon gods for their part in laying low their creator, and it was inevitable that they would come into conflict with their children. The two great mortal races of the world fought one another in a terrible war that saw both races nearly destroyed, their conflict taking the form of constant raids rather than pitched battles. In the air, the land, below the mountains and deep beneath the waves the two races fought. The conflict never truly ended, instead none remained who remembered why it had started, age and brutality had claimed them all. Those that remained had spent their entire lives fighting the war, never knowing any different. Rather than ceasing hostility, the few that remained simply could no longer commit to the conflict, and over the millennia the two races have rekindled the fighting, individuals leading crusades to retake lost artefacts or avenging some lose from generations past. During the war, the giants lost their capital, Voninheim, with some accounts claiming it was frozen solid and cast adrift, others say it was drank by the ravenous ocean, and others claim it was scorched from the earth by the fires of great volcanoes. Whatever the truth, the location of Voninheim is no longer known, and many giants seek to find it as they wander the world. In an attempt to keep the remaining giant society together, the giants made a pact with the gods, creating the ordning, a caste system that would bind them to one another in a hierarchy. Lingering Memory The giants that roam the world today are few and far between, with most keeping to their ancestral territory away from the small races of the world. Occasionally the giants will descend from their cloud castles or from the gates of their mountain fortresses to interact with the small folk, whether that be in seeking understanding or new slaves for their mines. Society The Ordning The true giants are bound to one another by a common history, religion and culture, seeing one another as kindred despite their physical differences. They are bound together by the ordning, a caste system where ones standing is decided by which of the giant races you belong to. By understanding its place in the ordning, a giant can know which kin it is superior to and which kin stand above. Within their own race, a giant places themselves based on their mastery of the aspect of the ordning their races exemplifies. Regardless of a giant's rank among its own race, the chief of a hill giant is inferior to the lowliest of stone giants. The ordning has no magical binding, nor is it considered an evil to disrespect or betray another giant, merely very rude. Races Storm Giant The first among the giants, the storm giants rule the other giants from their kingdoms above the clouds and beneath the waves. Ordning of Omens The ability to divine the future is the greatest talent a storm giant can hope to posses, with the ability to accurately interpret signs, portents and omens to navigate the every shifting whims of fate beings seen as evidence of a true leader, with the best of the storm giants being those seers and prophets that best exemplify this. Court of the Storm King The monarch of the storm giants is King Hekaton who rules from his court above the clouds. The court is a complex web of alliances and deals that stretch back millennia, serving as a microcosm of giant society as a whole. Cloud Giant Cloud giants are denizens of the skies, living in floating fortresses high above the ground. They are the second among the rankings of the ordning and consider themselves to be above the petty squabbles of the lesser races. Ordning of Extravagance Wealth and its trappings are important to a cloud giant; possession of items and artefacts that speak to one's affluence and fine taste as well as possessing sought after skills or craft are what decides one's place in the ordning of the the cloud giants. A cloud giant's home will be filled with treasures and artworks, lining the walls at a giant's eye level so as best to flaunt their wealth. Bound to Family Many cloud giants consider their family to be the greatest treasure. Though they seldom take oaths of loyalty to kin, there is an understanding that they are eternally bound to one another. It is not uncommon that upon the loss of a loved one a cloud giant will seek their own death, their stores of jewels cease to sparkle, their gold loses its luster and all that is left is mourning for lost kin. Noble Overlords Though aloof and seldom involved with the affairs of lesser races, when a cloud giant is sought for their advice or arbitration, they are often willing to give it. Seeing themselves as being more approachable than their storm giant kin, and not as bloodthirsty as their fire or frost cousins, they can be great sources of wisdom in the world. Fire Giant Fire giants dwell among volcanoes, lava floes, and rocky mountains below the surface of the world. They are militaristic and rage filled creatures that seek to dominate lesser races. Ordning of Craftwork Among giants, the fire giants are seen as the greatest artists and metalworkers, with wonders of smelting and smithing being forged in their fortresses of iron and steel. To be the best in the art of metalcraft is to be the highest in fire giant society, with a forge occupying a place of pride in a giant's demesnes. Mighty Bulwarks Fire giants build great fortresses, each being that fire giant lords masterpiece to show their skill and power. Underground, their fortresses sit upon rivers of magma, the super heated rock flowing down the metal into the forges within. Above ground, fire giant outposts are great stony fortresses that belch out smoke and soot, the fire giants harvesting entire forests to feed the greedy flames of their forges. Such locations are avoided by most races, though an abandoned fire giant fortress is a treasure trove of resources for any would be adventurer. Tyrants of the Scorched Halls Smaller races conquered by fire giants are taken as slaves, the lucky ones are taken as serfs and are sent to work the fields, farming livestock and growing food to feed the lord in their burning halls. The majority however, are sent to work the mines beneath the fortresses of the giants, to gather ore and gemstones under the lash of the lowest in the fire giant ordning, the taskmasters that overseer their toil day and night in boiling hot tunnels. Frost Giant Creatures of the frozen lands beyond civilisation, in the Sea of Moving Ice, beyond the Crown of the World and into the lands of Maktur. They respect only brute strength and the worth of trophies taken on raids. Ordning of Might Frost giants are reavers, raiders, and hunters of great beasts, and their society revolves around cycles of storming the villages and towns of other races, trading their loot with other giants as their hunting territory thaws.The greatest in their society lead fleets of warships heralded by blizzards and followed by flocks of crows seeking to feast on the corpses left behind in their raids. Ones place in the ordning as determined by their ability to boast of their achievements and win wrestling matches when those boasts are challenged. Ruthless Raiders War horns blare as frost giants march from their iceberg fortresses, riding the waves of the frozen seas, or charging down the mountainsides of howling peaks. Caring for food, ale, and steel, frost giants ignore gold and trinkets, the raiders have little interest in the currency of lesser races, though they have a fondness for jewels that they can wear. Adorned in Bones Frost giants value the skills of leather working and love to wear the skins and bones of their kills, particularly those of their ancient foes; dragons. Rarely do frost giants engage in menial work, preferring to craft clothing, weapons, and armour from the items they take in raids or from the hides of beasts they slay. Sea Giant Sea giants reside in coral castles below the sea. They prefer to live closer to shire while their storm giant cousins claim the deepest depths. Ordning of Tales Storytellers and chroniclers are held in the highest regard by sea giants. An oral tradition which stretches back millennia is kept alive by their ordning, though no single giant can tell the entire tale alone. As important as one's wealth of stories is the ability to tell them well. Many giants of the highest standing can tell only a few stories but tell them with such enthusiasm and aplomb that they can enrapture again and again. Their rules of storytelling are strict though and a giant must be able to tell their story without props, costumes or gimmicks. Shorewalkers Sea giants travel far and wide seeking new stories to add to their collection and they have learned that the best ones often come from the smallest people. Sea giants gladly interact with the younger races, trading for tales as a sea giant never ignores the value of a good story. Diligent Messengers As a result of their travels, sea giants act as messengers. In ancient times the mortal races would often learn of far off lands and events from roaming sea giants. Sea giant also bring news between giant kingdom. Stone Giant Stone giants dwell in mountains and caves, appearing as tall and thin when compared to their other kin, though this seemingly lithe form is in contrast to their rock hard bodies that adopt the characteristic of the stones that comprise their dwellings. They are surprisingly graceful creatures, usually on display when hurling massive boulders at intruders with poise as as well as brute strength. Ordning of Artistry The greatest virtue for a stone giant is to create intricate murals across cavern walls, carve statues that capture the essence of their life in stone, or master any number of artistic pursuits. The greatest artist in the ordning, according to stone giants, was Skoraeus Stonebones, who was said to have made carvings so perfect that they sprang to life, so potent was the crafter's skill. The best stone carvers are made the leaders, shamans, and prophets of stone giant community, revealing the secrets of the world through their art. Kingdoms in the Dark Stone giants dwell in secluded caves, many of which delve deep into the Boneways, beyond the sights of the surface dwellers. In their caverns and tunnels, stone giants carve wonders in the rock, with the drips of water the only sign of passing time. The centres of these communities are temples to silence, dark places where few outside of the stone giants have even heard described, let alone glimpsed. On the fringes of these realms, the outcasts dwell, the stone giants not blessed with artistic talent or lacking in the grace that their ordning if defined by. Dreamwalkers Stone giants are somewhat detached from the rest of the world, with their society generally seeing the world as a canvas to be worked on, or a piece of art on the cusp of completion that grows as each new eye looks upon it. This can manifest in many stone giants seeing the surface world as a dream or world totally devoid of consequences, as it is merely a place where an artist's instincts and appetites are expressed. There is no guilt for those giants that venture into the surface world, seeing its inhabitants as a reflection of the art that surrounds them. Hill Giant Hill Giant's are among the lowliest of giant-kind and the least exotic. They are fat, dim-witted and brutish. Ordning of Gluttony The ordning of hill giant's is straightforward, biggest first, and when determining size, height is seldom the primary measurement. Hill giants admire drooping paunches, thick jowls and rolling layers of fat; a hill giant chief is expected to have one chin for each decade lived and to weigh more than what any challenger might be able to lift. Dens of Squalor Hill giants often live in caves or simple lean-tos. Whatever their choice of home, it is invariably slovenly, full of old, rotted foodstuff and refuse. These scraps tend to attract lesser creatures live off giant's dregs. The giants are generally indifferent towards such scavengers, though they may sometimes treat them as pets, or handy snacks. Menace to Men Hill giants are largely responsible for the negative reputation giants have among the mortal races. A single hill giant can be a nuisance, stealing livestock or tearing fruit-trees from the ground to snack upon back home. A gang of them is dangerous, ridding farms of livestock and farmer's wives of their husbands but a clan of hill giants is more akin to a swarm of huge, flabby locust, making their way over whole swathes of countryside and consuming everything in their path. The city of Isagama is in constant conflict with the hill giants of the region, the brutes besieging the high walls of the city, who are in turn hunted by the rangers of the city. Ogres ''For more on this, see here. Ogres are a brutish race of giants found throughout the world, with the largest known grouping being the Ogun'Kor clan of southern Etan. They are creatures driven by their stomachs and their cruel whims, slow and lumbering but with a strength that can turn any crude club into a lethal weapon. Shattered Ordning Ogres are said to be those giants that refused to obey the ordning, seeing the gods as usurpers to the rightful rule of their creators, forming their own societies keeping to the simple concept that might it is right but could not agree on a way to truly establish such a system without killing one another. The ogres that survive today are a broken and scattered race, though they seem to care little about ideas like civilisation and prefer only to address their immediate appetites. Wanderers Most ogres are solitary creatures, few trusting other giants or even other ogres, they live in caves or in dens that take from other creatures. It is not unknown for them to strike deals with others however, and as long as they are provided with food, shelter, and an outlet to release their rage they can be valuable servants. Shatterspikes For more on this, see here. The largest clan of ogres in the world are the Ogun'kor, who appear to reflect what the original ogre civilisation might have looked like, driven by a single desire and marching to devour their enemies. Half-Giants Half-giants, or goliaths, are a nomadic race of tall humanoids native to mountain ranges throughout Tolas. They ranges from 7 or 8 feet tall, with pale skin adorned in symmetrical patterns of darker patches. Forgotten Children Goliaths do not consider themselves part of the ordning, and this opinion is shared by many giants, though some might find lives serving their larger kin. Such relationships after end after a few generations of goliath lives, as the giant who has made a pact with the tribe often expects the children of those they have made bargains with to uphold those oaths of their parents, though the goliaths will seldom share this view. Answers from the Sky Goliaths will form tribes or sometimes even larger warbands known as herds that absorb the warriors from defeat tribes, even taking on those of other races into their fold. Such tribes will often be led by a single philosophy, often one dedicated to the perfection of mind and body, or to purge a perceived weakness from the hearts and minds of its members. Half-Ogres Born from Violence Crafted from Blood Notable Giants * Blagothkus, the leader of the Cloud Giant forces that marshaled against the Cult of the Dragon Queen during the Rise of Tiamat. Category:Races Category:Giant